Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper - SPBGMA Win, New Music Alert, Live Videos!

New Music Coming Soon!

Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper have been busy over the last couple months working in the Compass Records Studio in Nashville, TN on their new CD due for release later this year. The album will feature new, original music, as well as some older tunes brought to new life by the Flamekeeper band members. As with the last few band projects, Jeff White is once again producing and the Flamekeeper band members couldn't be happier with the results. "It's been so wonderful to get back in the studio again and this band is absolutely killing it," say Michael. "It's been the first time for me to record with some of these guys and I am so excited about the results we're getting and the music we're producing. The band and I have been working hard over the last 18 months on song selection and are looking forward to getting the music out there. Garry West and Alison Brown have been wonderful to work with and I'm looking forward to a long relationship with Compass."

More photos from the band's recording sessions can be viewed here.

SPBGMA's Fiddle Player of the Year

Congratulations to Michael Cleveland who took home this year's Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPBGMA) Fiddle Player of the Year award! Mike and the band spent 2 days performing on the main stage and jamming in the hallways during SPBGMA's 40th Annual National Convention and Awards held in Nashville, TN last weekend. To view photos from the band's SPBGMA adventures, visit their website photo gallery.

Live Performance Videos

Want a sneak peek and listen at some of the new music coming from Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper? Check out these videos captured during the band's performance at SPBGMA!

"Come Along Jody"

"Much Too Late For Goodbyes"

"Johnny Thompson"

Upcoming Shows

February 28th - Evanston, IL

Chicago Bluegrass Concert Series

March 1st - Plymouth, MN

Mid-Winter Bluegrass Weekend

March 2nd - Bangor, WI

Leo & Leona's Tavern and Dance Hall

March 7th - Newark, OH

Bluegrass Connection of Central Ohio

March 8th - Westminster, MD

Westminster Concert Series

March 29th - Wilmington, OH

Southern Ohio Indoor Music Festival

Complete Performance Schedule

The Spinney Brothers Score 2nd Consecutive #1 Record with "No Borders!"

The Spinney Brothers are celebrating in a big way with the news of their 2nd consecutive #1 album with No Borders! The album first topped Bluegrass Unlimited's National Bluegrass Survey Top 15 Albums chart in January and has held on tight to claim the same position for February, as well. In addition, the first single from the Mountain Fever Records release, "Grandpa's Way Of Life" is #1 on February's Top 30 Songs chart!
The Spinney Brothers were surprised today when Mark Hodges, president of Mountain Fever Records presented them with a new car to commemorate this momentous occasion! Check out this great video from Rick and Allan Spinney to get a sneak peak of their new Chevrolet Camaro!

Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers - New LIVE DVD, Grand Ole Opry Appearance and New Merchandise!

JMRR Live DVD Now Available

The Radio Ramblers are pleased to announce the release of an all-new live DVD! The band had a blast performing last March at the Centerville High School Performing Arts Center. From that performance, we recorded our first music video for "Some Kind Of War," which featured the Centerville Alternative Strings. We were so pleased with how the entire evening's performance turned out, we decided to release the entire concert as a DVD! The concert includes sixteen songs, two of which ("Cruisin' Timber" and "Some Kind Of War") are performed with Centerville Alternative Strings. The DVD even includes a bonus interview with Joe Mullins & Doug Eyink regarding the "Some Kind Of War" music video. The first ever Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers DVD is available at the Radio Ramblers' live performances or at the Radio Ramblers' Online Store. This DVD is a must-have for fans of Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers and includes the following songs:

1. Smoke Along The Track

2. Our Old Kentucky Home

3. Katy Daley

4. Fallen Leaves

5. Worth It All

6. Listen, They're Playing My Song

7. Steel Guitar Rag

8. Lily

9. Bottom Of A Mountain

10. A Blue Million Tears

11. I Want To Be Loved But Only By You

12. Rock Of Ages Keep My Soul

13. Be Jesus To Someone Today

14. I'm No Longer An Orphan

15. Cruisin' Timber *

16. Some Kind Of War *

* Performed with Centerville Alternative Strings

Grand Ole Opry and ET Record Shop - 2/15

Mark your calendars for Saturday, February 15th and join JMRR in Nashville for an evening of music at the 2 of Music City's most historical venues! The band will kick off the evening with a performance at the GRAND OLE OPRY which begins at 7:00pm. (Purchase Your Tickets Here!) Following the Opry, they'll make their first appearance at the Ernest Tubb's Midnight Jamboree! The show will be hosted by Mike Scott and will also feature performances by Carl Jackson, Larry Cordle and Val Storey. The Midnight Jamboree is free to the public at the Troubadour Theatre on Music Valley Drive near the Opryland Hotel. You can listen live to the Opry and the Midnight Jamboree on 650AM WSM or at WSMONLINE.com.

New T-Shirts & Hats!

Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers are unveiling their new line of merchandise with vintage looking t-shirts and hats! T-shirts are available in red and light brown while the new hats are available in green with khaki and gray with navy. All items are available in multiple sizes through the band's online store.

BILLBOARD MAGAZINE UNVEILS BEST OF 2013 - RUSSELL MOORE & IIIRD TYME OUT RANK AMONG TOP 5

Cumming, GA. (January 21, 2014) – Billboard Magazine has released it's Best Of 2013: The Year In Music, documenting the best-selling albums for the year, including the Top 15 Bluegrass Albums. Timeless Hits From The Past Bluegrassed, the latest release from Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, ranks #5 alongside artists such as Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, Alan Jackson, and Old Crowe Medicine Show.

Released in January 2013 through the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® exclusive music program, the 12-track album features newly recorded classic hits performed bluegrass style by the seven-time IBMA Vocal Group of the Year, IIIrd Tyme Out and IBMA's most awarded Male Vocalist of the Year (five-times), Russell Moore. The legendary band gives a modern flare to the popular music originally recorded by Elvis, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, George Jones and Tammy Wynette, among others. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Bluegrass Albums chart where it remained for seven consecutive weeks for a total of 14 weeks in the Top 10.

IIIrd Tyme Out founder and highly revered lead singer Russell Moore says, "We're very proud to see Timeless Hits From The Past Bluegrassed receive this kind of recognition. It was our hope that our presentation of these classic songs would serve as tribute to some of our musical heroes, and the fact that it is considered to be among the top 5 best-selling bluegrass albums by Billboard magazine for the year 2013, is very exciting and we know that our fans, old and new, will enjoy it for many years to come."

For more information on Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, please visit www.iiirdtymeout.com. Timeless Hits From The Past Bluegrassed is available at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® and crackerbarrel.com, as well as iTunes and Amazon.com.

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Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out- New Photos, Male Vocalist Nomination, Interviews and More!

2014 Kicks Off Into High Gear

Thanks to our good friend Judith Burnette at WBRF in Galax, Virginia, we have some great photos from Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out's first performance of 2014 at the Fairview Ruritan Club! Russell was joined onstage by longtime IIIrd Tyme Out band members Wayne Benson on mandolin and Justen Haynes on fiddle, as well as new band members, Keith McKinnon on banjo and Blake Johnson on bass. From all accounts, the band rocked the packed house! We've posted the photos to the band's Facebook page and you can also see the photos on their website photo gallery.


In addition to a great first show of the year, Russell has been announced as a nominee for Male Vocalist of the Year by SPBGMA (Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass in America). This year's awards will take place on Sunday, February 2nd at the Music City Sheraton in Nashville, TN.

Billboard's Top 10 For 2013
Billboard Magazine has released its “Best Of 2013: The Year In Music” and Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out are ranked among the top selling Bluegrass artists for the year, coming in at #5 for their latest release, Timeless Hits From The Past Bluegrassed. The band shares the chart with Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, Alan Jackson, and Old Crowe Medicine Show. Check out the complete list here: Billboard’s Top Bluegrass Albums of 2013.

Russell Moore On WWB and WCYO This Weekend
Russell Moore will be featured on two radio programs this weekend. On Saturday, January 11th at 2:30pm ET, he'll chat with Steve Martin on Unreal Bluegrass which can be heard at worldwidebluegrass.com.


WCYO's Charlie Hall will visit with Russell on Sunday, January 12th for a live phone interview at 7:30pm ET. WYCO is located in Richmond, KY but can be heard worldwide through the station's website at www.wcyo.com.

Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers Kickoff SOIMF Photo Contest!

It's back! The March 2014 Southern Ohio Indoor Music Festival Photo Contest is now in process! Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers produce this Spring festival each year and are hosting the official contest. Details and contest rules may be found on their website here.  Enter, and you could win a pair of tickets to the Southern Ohio Indoor Music Festival or other great prizes.

The Spinney Brothers Celebrate A #1, Welcome A New Band Member, and Share Perils of the Road!

The Spinney Brothers' latest project, No Borders is the #1 Bluegrass CD according to Bluegrass Unlimited's National Bluegrass Survey for this month. Released in May 2013, No Borders includes recognizable hits for The Spinney Brothers including the first single, "Grandpa's Way Of Life," which is currently #2 on the Top 30 Songs chart, and fan favorite, "I Want My Dog Back," which debuted on the same chart just three months ago and sits at #17.

The Spinney Brothers are thrilled to 

introduce Terry Poirier as their new bass player. Terry is a native of New Brunswick, Canada and is the son of very well-known Canadian fiddle player, Eddy Poirier. Terry has spent the last 5 years as bass player for the contemporary bluegrass group, Newtown and is also a DJ, Webmaster and Music Librarian for World Wide Bluegrass. "We are thrilled to have Terry Poirier join the Spinney Brothers band," states Rick Spinney. "We have known Terry for many years and respect his level of musicianship and dedication to Bluegrass music." Terry is equally excited about joining a band of fellow Canadians stating, "I fully expect my new venture with the Spinney Brothers to be great and I'm looking forward to many shows and miles traveled with them."

The Spinney Brothers are certainly no strangers to adventures in road travel. (Remember the bear they met a couple years ago?) Even so, it doesn't really make it any less bearable when schedules get messed up because of weather. After finishing several shows in Florida this past weekend, the band was anxious to catch a flight back home to Canada when the big "polar vortex" hit. The band found themselves stuck in one airport after another for an adventure that took 2 days before they finally slept in their own beds. Never let it be said, though, that they lose their sense of humor. Check out these regular Facebook updates from Rick Spinney, documenting all the excitement:

Update 1: Here we sit with hopeful anticipation…to get back home for some relaxation…the airport's a buzz…folks coming and going...Orlando is sunny...in Canada it's snowing...still we forge on ahead through the maze of security...keeping our cool...showing maturity...only 10 minutes to board then up up away...back to our loved ones and home we will stay...just then we hear it...from the speaker above..."your flight is delayed, from Air Canada...with love"...............West Jet..we love you and will see you next week. The Spinney Brothers.

Update 2: Oh..oh..oh....do I know the system or what??? Another delay…2 more hours....how many of you can guess what we will hear in 2 hours?? Lol

Update 3: Wait for it.....wait for it....and......cancelled!!!!!

Update 4: Well....I'm happy to inform you that I am tucked in bed and ready for sleep...problem is IT'S NOT MY BED!! Lol...well, we fly out at 1:45pm tomorrow.

Update 5: After being diverted to Montreal today..we have finally made it to Nova Scotia. What was to be a 3 and a half hour flight has lasted 2 days…But we're still smiling.. :-)

This month's fan photo comes from Nancy Jordan, a promoter in Florida who booked The Spinney Brothers for 2 different shows this past weekend. This photo was taken after the show at the first venue, Gallery 26, in Nancy's hometown. According to Nancy, it was a great night: "They are awesome guys as well as professional entertainers. They played to a packed house at Gallery 26 in my town and had 2 standing ovations! I have thoroughly enjoyed hosting this great group of guys as you can tell from the picture!" 

 

If you've got a photo you'd like to share, please post it on the band's Facebook page and we just might choose it for a future "Fan Photo Of The Month!"